Profile

Michael Woolcock, Lecturer in Public Policy, is
Lead Social Development Specialist with the World Bank's
Development Research Group in Washington, D.C. His current work
focuses on interactions between customary and state legal systems,
conducted as part of the World Bank's global 'Justice for the Poor'
program (which he co-founded), and strategies for assessing complex
social interventions. His most recent books are Contesting
Development: Participatory Projects and Local Conflict Dynamics in
Indonesia (with Patrick Barron and Rachael Diprose; Yale
University Press, 2011), and History, Historians and
Development Policy: A Necessary Dialogue (edited with C.A.
Bayly, Vijayendra Rao and Simon Szreter; Manchester University
Press, 2011). An Australian national, he has an M.A. and Ph.D. in
sociology from Brown University. He taught previously at Harvard
Kennedy School from 2000-2006, and from 2006-2009 was founding
Research Director of the Brooks World Poverty Institute at the
University of Manchester, where he was Professor of Social Science
and Development Policy.

Courses

Spring

Research

Selected Publication Citations:

Book Chapters

Woolcock, Michael, David Lewis, and Dennis Rodgers. "Introduction
to Popular Representations of Development." Popular
Representations of Development: Insights from Novels, Films,
Television, and Social Media. Ed. David Lewis, Dennis Rodgers,
and Michael Woolcock. Routledge, 2014, 3-15.

Edited by Michael Woolcock, Brian Tamanaha, and Caroline Sage.
Popular Representations of Development: Insights from Novels,
Films, Television, and Social Media. Routledge, June 2012.

Edited Volumes

David Lewis, Dennis Rodgers, and Michael Woolcock, eds. Popular
Representations of Development: Insights from Novels, Films,
Television, and Social Media. Routledge, 2014.

HKS Faculty Research Working Paper Series

Woolcock, Michael. "Culture, Politics, and Development." HKS
Faculty Research Working Paper Series RWP14-041, September 2014.

Woolcock, Michael. "Engaging with Fragile and Conflict-Affected
States." HKS Faculty Research Working Paper Series RWP14-038, July
2014.

Research Papers/Reports

Woolcock, Michael and Deval Desai. "The Politics of Rule of Law
Systems in Developmental States: 'Political Settlements' as a Basis
for Promoting Effective Justice Institutions for Marginalized
Groups." Effective States and Inclusion Development Research
Center, July 2012.